The Great Art Quest 2015-2016
Evaluation Report
Catherine Mailhac www.mailhac.org
Contents 1.
Introduction ................................................................................ 2
2.
Project aims and objectives ........................................................ 3
3.
Quality Principles ........................................................................ 4
4.
Methodology ................................................................................ 5
5.
Executive Summary ..................................................................... 6
6.
Introducing children to galleries, art and storytelling .............. 10
7.
Engaging children with art and storytelling .............................. 12
8.
Relationship building: children and arts venues ....................... 21
9.
Academic interest, attainment and creativity ........................... 31
10.
Building confidence and self-esteem ........................................ 35
11.
Relationship building: families and galleries ............................ 41
12.
Relationship building: galleries, schools, practitioners ............ 45
13.
Operational effectiveness ......................................................... 56
14.
Appendix 1: Credits ................................................................... 67
15.
Appendix 2: Evaluation Overview ............................................. 68
16.
Appendix 3: Finance documentation ......................................... 70
Cover art created by pupils in London
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1. Introduction The Great Art Quest is a UK-wide arts project designed by Children & the Arts. It is sponsored by GAM (UK) Ltd. The project works in partnership with arts venues across the UK to engage children with visual art. The aim of this evaluation is to measure the impact of the Great Art Quest project during the 2015-16 academic year against its stated aims and objectives. It also examines the quality and operational effectiveness of the programme. There are suggestions for areas which could be developed and refined for the project in future years. The report is intended to be shared amongst those involved in the project, funders and future participants. In 2015-16 the project worked with four galleries, and eight creative practitioners: Ben Uri Gallery & Museum o Karen Raingold o Olivia Armstrong Reading Museum & Town Hall o Jon Lockhart o Xanthe Gresham Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, o Caroline Parrott o Lizzie Bryant Stirling Smith Museum & Art Gallery o Janette Lightbody o Jackie and David Smith In each region, they engaged with pupils and staff in three or four primary schools, working with a total of 13 schools across the whole project. The details of all involved are included at the end of this report.
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2. Project aims and objectives a. Aims
To give up to 500 children who would not otherwise have the opportunity, the chance to visit a local gallery and to work with professional artists and storytellers. To encourage children to get to know and enjoy visual art and storytelling through visiting a gallery and working with professional artists and storytellers. To help children to feel comfortable in arts venues by introducing them to their local gallery and allowing them to exhibit their own artwork in the gallery. To inspire children to visit the gallery with their families after the project has finished. To impact positively on children’s academic interest, attainment and creativity. To build children’s confidence and self-esteem.
b. Objectives
To introduce up to 500 9-11 year olds to their local gallery. To introduce up to 500 9-11 year olds to visual art and storytelling through working with professional artists and storytellers. To provide up to 40 Key Stage Two teachers with training in using visual art and storytelling in the classroom. To connect 4 art galleries with 4 local schools that they have had little or no previous experience of working with, and to build the beginnings of a lasting relationship. To introduce 4 visual artists and 4 storytellers to schools they may not have previously worked with.
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3. Quality Principles Arts Council England have developed a set of seven principles for work by, with and for children and young people in arts and culture. These principles are used throughout this report, as an additional lens with which to look at the Great Art Quest. Quality Principles Striving for excellence and innovation Being authentic Being exciting, engaging, inspiring Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Actively involving children and young people Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership
Art created by pupils in London
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4. Methodology The methodology was developed in discussion with Katherine Hannon, Great Art Quest Project Coordinator at Children & the Arts, in September 2015. The project has five distinct phases. One session from each phase was observed and photographed, with all regions being visited at least once, as shown in the table below. Observations Session
Venue
Teacher CPD
Gallery
Pupil Visit
Gallery
Storyteller
School
Visual Artist
School
Celebration
Gallery
Reading Museum & TH
Stirling Smith M&AG
RussellCotes AG&M
Ben Uri G&M
During and/or after these observed sessions, conversations were had with pupils, teachers and, where relevant, creative practitioners and gallery staff. The format for these conversations varied in order to fit in with the complex logistics surrounding each setting (transport, lunchtimes, available sessions, workshop timings etc.). The methodologies included small focus groups, short interviews and informal conversations with individuals. There was also one telephone interview. Short questionnaires were also distributed to the adults, to be completed at key moments in the project: by school staff at the end of the CPD day, to evaluate the session (all 20 returned); by teachers before the pupils first visited the gallery, to establish their pre-project experience of galleries and to gather data on pupil attendance (11 out of 14 returned); by creative practitioners, school and gallery staff at the end of their project, looking back on the project as a whole (23 out of 28 returned); by gallery staff at the end of the project to establish a quantitative overview of their sessions (all four returned). All adults involved were also given the opportunity to share any observations and material gathered during the project with the evaluator. The sample size for this research project is small and it is therefore not possible to draw any conclusive quantitative summaries, however, the qualitative conclusions do provide useful indications. There was no baseline data available to measure changes in attainment, creativity and attitudes for pupils, so the report relies upon anecdotal feedback from teachers. Quotes are given verbatim in the report.
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5. Executive Summary Introducing children to galleries, art and storytelling
464 pupils aged nine-to-eleven-year-olds were supported to visit their local gallery and to work with professional artists and storytellers. For 84% of pupils, this was their first ever visit to their local gallery. 60% had never visited any gallery with school. 76% had never visited any gallery with their family. Pupils were positively surprised by their experiences at the gallery. The rich mix of gallery sessions and creative workshops gave pupils the time and impetus to explore and develop their own responses.
Engaging children with art and storytelling Overall, pupils were enthusiastic and engaged well with visual art and storytelling, building on connections between the gallery and practitioners. The structure of the project allowed for a range of content and activities to be explored. There was often a palpable feeling of excitement in these sessions, in which pupils enjoyed working collaboratively. There were instances of pupils feeling inspired by the professional artists, being motivated to initiate their own self-directed work and making personal progression. The experience of working with professional creative practitioners offered an authentic creative experience, which, in most cases, provided an alternative approach to everyday classroom activity. In these cases, children particularly valued the creative freedom they were given, and it was evident that many pupils felt a sense of autonomy and had ownership of the work they had produced. Although pupils felt they were being listened to (often more than normal), they were also aware that they were working within a predefined structure which they could not influence.
Relationship building: children and arts venues Visiting their local gallery, often for the first time, was seen to have a positive impact on pupils’ preconceived ideas of what an art gallery would be like. In some cases, the children were actively involved in the activities, and this was seen to have a positive impact on their feelings towards the gallery. Pupils were able to recall the things they had seen, often talking with enthusiasm about individual items which had become familiar to them. The final exhibitions and performances took a variety of formats, and in all cases were seen to be a valuable element of the project, giving a real life experience and an authentic goal for pupils. On visiting the gallery for the second time to see their own work on display, pupils were seen to feel a sense of pride, belonging and ownership.
Academic interest, attainment and creativity Based on anecdotal feedback and observations from staff, it was possible to see cases where the project had an impact on academic interest and attainment. It was reported that some pupils showed personal progression and an increased interest in art, drama, poetry, and writing stories based on art works or historic settings. There was also a reported increased interest in visiting art galleries. Pupils showed creativity during the sessions, but it was difficult within the scope of this research to evidence the longer term impact of the project on their creativity. It was however clear that for many pupils, this was a good introduction to a Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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broader way of thinking which nurtured their creativity. Working with the creative practitioners, encouraged pupils to value creativity and to see how it could be harnessed by adults in a professional capacity.
Building confidence and self-esteem The project very quickly had a visible impact on pupils’ confidence in art making and storytelling, due to them developing new skills within a positive, inclusive environment with a creative, collaborative approach. Many pupils, including those who were often shy, were seen to develop their confidence in reading their stories and contributing to group performances. Sharing their own work beyond the school walls also gave them a sense of purpose and endorsement. The pupils had the confidence to have a go and to try new things. Many pupils showed improved self-esteem and increased confidence in their own selfexpression. There were examples of pupils individually and collectively striving for excellence as they tried their best.
Relationship building: families and galleries Pupils said that they were keen to return to the gallery with family either to show their work on display or to show them around the gallery. There was some parental engagement during the project which included a small number of parents supporting the class visits to the gallery, and limited attendance at some finale events. Based on informal pupil feedback to teachers and observations from gallery staff, as well as one voucher scheme for free entry, it is known that a few families have visited the galleries to see the project exhibitions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that when parents did visit the gallery during the project, this was a positive experience. In Stirling there are plans to use some funding from the project to encourage future family visits. However, it was generally felt that this was an area which needed to be developed further, with more considered, focused activities from all involved. This area would also benefit from a longer term approach to monitoring and evaluation.
Relationship building: galleries, schools, practitioners The project aims to build relationships between schools, galleries and creative practitioners. 13 schools participated this year, slightly under target, as several two-form entry schools were keen to involve both classes within the year group. Overall the project worked with four galleries, four storytellers and four visual artists. Within the last five years, five of the 13 schools had previously worked with an art gallery and 10 of the 13 schools had already worked with creative practitioners, although often only as a one-off event. 20 Key Stage Two school staff were provided with a day of CPD training at their local art gallery led by professional creative practitioners. This was a new experience for many individuals, as 60% had never worked with a professional storyteller and 55% had never worked with a professional artist. As a result of the training, the school staff were able to identify new ideas, skills or tools which they could use in the classroom. The project was often successful in bringing together a combination of people with particular expertise and unique resources in an open-ended, dynamic and authentic collaborative process. The initial CPD day was seen to be a positive start to the project, with mutually beneficial dialogues shaping the project and building up trust and understanding between partners. Some teachers showed personal Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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progression as they learnt new skills and developed a creative, open approach. Others spoke about their passion for the arts being reignited or their enthusiasm for continuing this work in the future. Across the project there was range of ways in which teachers had chosen to engage with the project – from immersion and extension, to disengagement and not being present. The project was undoubtedly stronger when class teachers attended the CPD day themselves, and then actively engaged and supported the sessions. This resulted in a better experience for all involved and showed more promise for a lasting legacy. It is therefore recommended that this should be mandatory in future years. There were good examples of the seeds having been sown to maintain and develop these new relationships between galleries, practitioners and schools.
Operational effectiveness The project was generally deemed to be well structured, with a clear, logical framework for the sessions which encouraged progression. There was one instance where practitioners did not attend the final school visit to the galley due to budget constraints, which may have reduced the potential impact of this session for the pupils. Across the board, there were reports that the projects took longer than anticipated often resulting in creative practitioners working beyond their paid days. This was caused by a number of factors including: ambitious plans; not factoring in all elements of the project delivery; unclear expectations about school support; introducing extra elements e.g. documentation; and sessions being added in order to reach the target attendance numbers. The collaborative nature of this project also required a high level of planning if it was to be successfully delivered. It is suggested that in the future it should be assumed that all necessary work happens within the allocated facilitated sessions. This should be factored in and agreed in advance at the start of future projects. Projects worked particularly well when they happened over a shorter period of time e.g. one half term, rather than over six months, thus allowing the momentum to build. There were different approaches to integrating the project into the curriculum or keeping it distinct, and this should be clearly discussed and agreed on a case by case basis. In the future, there could be a greater clarity of budget breakdown to ensure a more realistic understanding of what would be covered and projects could be shaped accordingly. This would also reduce the existing lack of clarity regarding who is ordering, paying and claiming for resources. Financial issues resulted in late payments for many involved in 2015-16, which was particularly problematic for creative practitioners. Communication was mostly considered to be good, with clear, wellpitched information given from the start, and quick responses from Children and the Arts. There were however some concerns around communication, particularly in terms of clarifying expectations and processes as outlined above. Creative practitioners and gallery staff reported difficulties and extra time spent trying to contact schools staff. Communication could be potentially improved by finalising all session and exhibition dates at the CPD day, and adding a face-to-face review midway through the project.
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A visual art session in Bournemouth
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6. Introducing children to galleries, art and storytelling Aim To build children’s confidence and self-esteem. To give up to 500 children who would not otherwise have the opportunity the chance to visit a local gallery and to work with professional artists and storytellers. Objectives To introduce up to 500 9-11 year olds to their local gallery. To introduce up to 500 9-11 year olds to visual art and storytelling through working with professional artists and storytellers. Quality Principles Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership The Great Art Quest 2015-16 supported 464 nine-to-eleven-year-old pupils to visit their local gallery and to work with professional artists and storytellers. Based on the responses received: for 84% of pupils, this was their first ever visit to their local gallery; 60% had never visited any gallery with school; 76% had never visited any gallery with their family. Pupils, practitioners, school and gallery staff commented positively on this new opportunity to visit their local gallery, something which many children had not yet had the chance to experience:
I haven’t been to a museum before. I was expecting pictures. There were statues models, pictures, drawings, lots. Amazed because there was so much art. [The best thing was] probably the vase with the dragon - looks really cool. Pupil
Giving the children the chance to visit a local gallery because many did not know about it and most would probably have not had the chance to visit it, had they not been taken with school. School staff
The kids were much more enthusiastic than I thought they would be. It is natural because they are from more deprived areas, you think: “Oh maybe they don't have access to creative stuff so maybe they won't be interested in it”, but it was exactly the opposite. That really surprised me, which was lovely. Creative practitioner
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They are going to get an opportunity which has diminished in their school. Gallery staff It has definitely achieved its aim of involving children in the experience of an art gallery when it was something not currently in their lives. Gallery staff It was also appreciated that they were being introduced to a multifaceted experience which combined art and storytelling with visits to the gallery:
Mixing storytelling and art and visits out of school has given the children very rich experiences. School staff
I think combining an artist and storyteller is a great way of exploring exhibitions and allowed the children to really develop their own stories around the paintings and to then develop images from these. Creative practitioner
The continuity for the children [has worked well] – learning in layers with repeat visits, and those visits taking place quite close together so that we could really build a momentum. [It was good] to be able to work practically and visually with stories using different mediums – art, movement, drama, storytelling and sensory imaginative play. Creative practitioner
It was great to engage the children in the whole project… particularly regarding the links between the storytelling and the creating of the artworks related to it. The children were clearly enjoying the whole process…especially the visits to the gallery and seeing the artworks. Creative practitioner
A school visit to the gallery in Stirling
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7. Engaging children with art and storytelling Aim To encourage children to get to know and enjoy visual art and storytelling through visiting a gallery and working with professional artists and storytellers. Quality Principles Striving for excellence and innovation Being authentic Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Actively involving children and young people Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership
Excitement, engagement and inspiration The predominant feedback was that the majority of pupils had enjoyed getting to know visual art and storytelling through working with the creative practitioners, as well as visiting galleries. There were many examples of pupils showing high levels of enthusiasm and engagement:
The pupils enjoyed trying different styles of art. They also enjoyed being in an art gallery and seeing famous pieces of artwork. They enjoyed being able to use clay to create their models. The storytelling aspect was also very interesting and inspired them in class with other activities. School staff
She is so engaging when she talks. My class struggle to sit down for a long period of time and she told a story for half an hour and I’ve never seen them sit for half an hour, just so engaged in a story, actual mouths dropping listening to the actual story. I kept looking at the time and thinking: “They are still not talking. They are still not fidgeting.” She told them that story straight away and they were hooked. She had them in her trance, and she could go with it. That was a great thing to grab them straight away, the story was really well thought out. School staff
They have absolutely loved it, never seen them so enthusiastic about anything before! I wasn't sure what to expect. They really settled down and got into their stories. School staff
There was a palpable 'buzz' in all of the sessions. This atmosphere at first was perhaps the thrill of the new and nervous energy. Over time I think it morphed into a collective desire to create something greater. The students worked really hard. They joined forces, they collaborated on shared goals and navigated mythical lands and vanquished beasts with amulets conjured from their dreams and fantasies. Creative practitioner
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In terms of engagement, getting children to want to write, to want to read, to share their stories to stand up and make fools of themselves without batting an eyelid... that has been a real strength of [this project] for me, personally that had to be a fundamental part of the project that seems to have come out. Gallery staff
When he realised he was making a meaningful contribution, he was glowing. He was obviously the bad boy, the king pin, he's trouble in class, but it was good to see that… Gallery staff
The best thing was the engagement! We had really strong responses from the children, with a few notable examples of reticent writers making dramatically improved efforts. Similarly, the teachers proved great spokespeople for the scheme, all expressing how much they and their school had enjoyed it. Some even created their own exhibition back at school once the work had been returned! Gallery staff
In one of the observed sessions, pupils clearly make connections between the things they had seen at the gallery and their drawings, and had good retention of detail:
We all had a lot of fun looking around the museum and doing all the amazing activities the teachers arranged for the class to do. Pupil
When we went to the Russell-Cotes Museum, we had to look at the pictures, and later we had to draw things. So five minutes, two minutes, 40 seconds and 10 seconds. It was really hard. It’s about how the detail changes if we draw fast. Well, with this I think it is more if you take time, it is more accurate but, if you are in a rush, it is not that you don't finish but that certain detail goes… Pupil
I'm drawing the fireplace. I found it on one of the things we were doing when we had 5 minutes to draw and I liked it. Pupil
The project gave some pupils the motivation to continue self-directed activities at home:
One child was so inspired by the project that in-between workshops she had created her own pop-up book in a match box which she proudly showed me. Creative practitioner
At home, I drew a massive bed and then I decorated it, I just felt like it. Pupil
Children have created fact books, separate performances, done extra homework on the subject, borrowed library books to find
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out more. And all of these were things they did in their spare time without me asking. School Staff
The enjoyment reached beyond visual art and storytelling, spreading to other subjects which were part of the project.
I loved [the project] because it made History a whole lot funner. Pupil
Several pupils seemed to develop a personal connection with the practitioners over the course of the project. There was a clear sense that they found the practitioners, and their approach, inspiring. The project offered pupils examples of positive role models for careers in the arts:
I thought about working with [the storyteller] that it was just as good as working with the dream you - like the person that you really want to be - and she was really fun and really helpful. Pupil
Allowed them to see professional artists / storytellers in a job role. School staff
There were inevitably also moments where pupils were less engaged, lost concentration or did not enjoy an activity. From observation, it would seem that these moments happened more frequently when pupils were unclear of the task, when they had less autonomy or after having done an activity for some time. However, negative feedback sometimes came sandwiched between more positive statements:
I enjoyed all the acting out, watching and everything. But I don't like writing so I didn't enjoy that. Because I love drama and acting. Pupil
[Having a full day] builds their stamina and their understanding. They waivered in terms of their concentration. This is just the stamina that these children have. Towards the end, just before lunch and then after lunch, some of them were just like: “You know what, I just want to finish this”. But I was impressed by how engaged they were in the retelling, they wanted to be the objects [in the performance]. School staff
Authenticity and innovation For some participants, a clear benefit of having a professional creative practitioner in the classroom was the injection of a new approach. This encompassed specific creative techniques, an open perspective and an informal way of using the classroom.
[A storyteller] gives the children the understanding of the power of words, the awe and wonder of words. As gimmicky as the cow thing was - the cylinder that you turn over and makes the noise of cow – and particularly that jewellery box at the end with the twinkly noise - that just seems to flick a switch in some of them, so they become engaged through the sound effects or becoming Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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the sound effects. That seems to really help them to engage. I think that is what I can quite clearly see a storyteller was able to do. School staff
I liked using the big paper to draw what we imagined in our heads. Pupil
The best bit was when [the artist] came in and we got to create pictures on the big piece of paper and all take our shoes off. Pupil
In one region, the visual artist was an experienced peripatetic art teacher rather than an artist with an established professional practice. The other practitioner wore two hats – former headteacher now gallery Education Officer, and storyteller running a theatre company. Whilst the experience offered in this region was still very valid and the teachers responded positively, it did perhaps not provide the alternative approach and freedom which comes from having a creative ‘outsider’ leading sessions. There was a blurring of roles, for example, in order to establish boundaries with an unsettled class, the Education Officer / storyteller made it clear to the group that he had been a headteacher which immediately established a hierarchy and positioned him within a particular power structure. It was also telling that, in feedback from the school staff, the other creative practitioner was referred to as the art teacher rather than as the artist. In this model, pupils were not as clearly exposed to the idea of creative practice as a professional career and potentially missed out on the alternative perspective of someone whose experience is mainly based outside of the education system.
Well structured, varied sessions There was a sense that all involved appreciated the range of activities which make up the Great Art Quest. The broad range of content and format makes for a varied experience, and allows people to try new things and to find their strengths. The sessions were often well organised with a good balance of activities and a considered flow. The length of the project allowed practitioners to tweak content as the project progressed.
I really liked when [the storyteller] came to our school and we did stories. It’s like cool when we see like the teacher in the gallery we were in, and then she comes to our school. Pupil
I enjoyed the least writing because I don't like it. It was easier than normal, because normally we have to comment on something and I'm just sitting there thinking: “What shall I do, what shall I do?”, and now I have loads of ideas. Pupil
We had an idea, a picture in our head, and she was telling us a bunch of ideas things we could do with it, so now we have lots of ideas of things to make it more interesting. Pupil
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I liked it when [the storyteller] came, because she made like a picture frame and we had to perform it in just a square. We were doing so many activities. Pupil
What was great, was that she clearly knew what needed to be done, which things needed to be finished, but there was always something more that they could do. There was never going to be a point where someone had nothing to do, […] there was never that down time for them to get bored or something like that... which I don't think they would have anyway. School staff
I think I like how [the storyteller] approaches things. There were lots of mini activities, that you can see the train of thought, what they are working towards, but it is not just 'we'll share as a group', there are lots of activities and they link up. School staff
Being able to work practically and visually with stories using different mediums – art, movement, drama, storytelling and sensory imaginative play. Creative practitioner
A positive and inclusive experience Some of the most successful sessions involved activities which were structured in such a way that all pupils, regardless of ability, were able to engage in some way. This equality of engagement ranged from making sound effects in a performance to adding to a collective art work:
We thought it would be fair [to use every stamp] so that everyone’s design gets used. Pupil
I think they just know that this is only going to work if we do it together and they all feel part of it - everyone. They are all stakeholders in the little stories. They all have their art work. No one is left out. School staff
To see everybody, even D, who had English as a second language, just to see he'd written stories, handwriting beautiful, was discussing the story… When someone picked him out to act, as soon as he'd been picked to go up on the stage once, then every time he'd put his hand up. Every single child had written something, had written a story. I wanted to structure the performance session so that the confident ones could go in, but everyone has something to do, also taking pride in the stories. Creative practitioner
Some of them are quite individualistic and want to work on their own and some of them work in groups. It was strange everybody made an individual piece to start with and then they branched out... a couple of them went straight on to a big item, the fireplace and the sofa, and the others - windows, small ornaments or a lampshade. Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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School staff When pupils in one session were asked if they felt part of the activities or not, their responses were telling:
Teachers, sometimes they say to children, when they want to do drama so much, they pick them one time and then they pick them a second time but [the storyteller] she picked the right people every time. Pupil
We were picked and even those people who weren't picked, they could do sound effects and things, and even if you didn't want to act you could still get a turn to do something. Pupil
I liked it because everyone got to do one thing at least, make sound effects, get on if they want to. If one person didn't want to go on, they could still change their minds like F did - she was like “No, no, no…” then like she would try and she put her hand up. Pupil
When children are listening to each other and engaging their imaginations together, I am always gobsmacked by the creativity in their stories… One class came up with a dragon that puts a whole village into a magic pot and to the few people who weren't in the village at the time, to find the dragon and discover a way to undo the dragon's spell… A quiet boy came out with the best opening line… 'Long ago, in an ancient time, when mythical creatures existed'… A restless boy came out with a startling dragon growl – which was put to great use. Creative practitioner
In one setting, it was reported that there was a sense of equality between pupils and artists:
I learned massively off [the visual artist]. We had a ball working together and I think our enthusiasm was infectious. He really got in there with the children speaking and working with them as apprentice artists and equals. Creative practitioner [storyteller]
Personal progression There were several examples of students showing personal progression and resilience. These were sometimes flagged up by the students, sometimes by the school staff.
It made it more fun having [the artist]. With [the storyteller] also the story writing was quite fun actually. With [the artist] it was like she kind of helps us more than we need to, so it is kind of like quite easy and she gives us loads of ideas like the lines and shapes to use. I think I’m better at drawing now. I’m not normally good at drawing but with help, she is really good at helping us. Pupil
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In my entire life I wanted to do a pop-up. I was in Year 4 at that time, and the pop-up they helped me a bit, and, but the thing is I didn't do it myself, the teacher done it for me. But then when I'm in Year 5, they said and we're going to do a pop-up and I said: 'Oh my, I'm so rubbish at it', but then she told us instructions and I didn't want any help, I wanted to try it by myself and I just gone and done it! Pupil
B - he's struggled to get things out, there is a delay, he's picked up on the story and has talked about it this week, and he's been able to blog about it as well. Normally this kind of thing doesn't really suit him as such, it's not something that he particularly finds interesting, but he's really managed to grip on to it, so I guess I'll see some progress there as he develops it throughout the week. School staff
Pupils actively involved Several pupils reported that they were being listened to during the project and that their opinions mattered:
I thought happy and then I saw [the storyteller] and it got even better because she asked me stuff, like got involved in the story and she makes me laugh a lot. Pupil
However, some pupils recognised that their level of input was often limited, for example, the creative practitioner offering them limited around session logistics rather than more significant choices around content or installation. This was often understandable given the time limitations and nature of the project.
We are going to make bits and a fireplace so far. We don't really know how it goes together, I think [the artist] is going to decide. Pupil
We are probably not [listened to], because it is all set up and stuff and is not obviously going to change, it has to stay the same. Pupil
I’m intrigued to see how this works now, we've done all these flat packed bits... she's tried to explain it but I don't think we can really understand it until we see it. School staff
First we'll be introducing the topic, we'll be looking at art work, that relates to that and then they'll be doing their own preparatory work related to that. So either working individually or in pairs or in groups, it'll depend how they feel about that - I’ll be led by them in that respect. Creative practitioner
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A sense of ownership From the pupils’ point of view, the most common positive aspect of the project was their sense of creative freedom, autonomy and ownership. They repeatedly referred to their own stories, their own exhibits, their own characters. For many of them, this seemed to be a different approach to their everyday activities. They were able to take inspiration from the gallery, and make them their own. When visiting the gallery to see their final exhibition, a group of pupils were asked whose ideas were on display – there was an enthusiastic chorus of “our ideas!”, “us!”.
I liked making the boats because we could do it how we wanted and it let us be creative. Pupil
I felt like I got to say what I wanted and I said what I wanted and I wanted to make it funny. Pupil
I enjoyed writing because we could do anything and enjoyed drama because you could choose to be anyone. Pupil
We're doing wallpaper. We are doing our own design on paper for our own little room where are making our own exhibits. Pupil
I liked when we had to do scenes for every story and when you had to make sounds for snow and when you write they give examples and you could make funny stories and horror stories and you could make what you want. Pupil
I’ve done the dragon vase. But there is a twist. I added lots of animals. Pupil
This was a wonderful project as it introduced our children to galleries and the world of art. The best part was the interactive workshops as the children were able to get really hands on and feel a sense of ownership and pride over their finished products – their stories and accompanying pop-up books. [The creative practitioners] were superb! We all loved the captivating storytelling and [the artist] showed us some great art tips. School staff
During my visits to the schools, the children in pairs worked up their stories from their initial freeze frames. When each pair in turn stood up in front of the class and practised their opening lines, there were many examples of personal surprise and delight in being able to choose their own words and be heard and appreciated by the rest of the class. Creative practitioner
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We're doing wallpaper. We are doing our own design on paper for our own little room where are making our own exhibits. Pupil
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8. Relationship building: children and arts venues Aim To help children to feel comfortable in arts venues by introducing them to their local gallery and allowing them to exhibit their own artwork in the gallery. Quality Principles Being authentic Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Actively involving children and young people Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership The combined ingredients of art gallery visits, visual art and storytelling sessions created a powerful mix which was seen to help children feel comfortable at the venue. Pupils developed their sense of belonging and gained confidence in interpreting the art on display.
a. Visiting the local art gallery Personal progression – changing perceptions There were numerous examples of pupils changing their perceptions of the gallery. The impact of the warm welcome received by pupils in three of the galleries was particularly commented upon:
It was really good. I'd not been before. [I wasn't expecting it to be] nothing as good as what it was. I thought it would be quite old fashioned, and I thought it would just be pictures but there was sculpture and stuff. Pupil
I wasn’t too happy when I found out that we were going to the museum because I'm not really an arts person, but it was better than I thought. I'm more games. Pupil
It was fun. I felt excited because there is lots of art and museum stuff. There was one section we didn’t see with animals at the museum. I really like animals. Pupil Snapshot One school engaged children through writing blog posts about their experience. These give an insight into some of the reactions by pupils, and their preconceptions.
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Hi there I wish to share my experience at the Russel Cotes museum. So, anyway here it is. Once we got there we were given a warm welcome into the building. Now, you might be thinking that it was really BORING but it actually wasn’t at all. Some of the art was great and I really want to talk about it here. First of all we were just given a few minutes to look around the room and look at some of the art. I really found it to be interesting and knew quite a bit about the various artefacts in that room. There was a massive plate made of gold with dragons around the edge and an image that I think was from a theatre display that apparently took 18 years too make. The next room contained much more modern art. When you first looked at it you would just see random colours but then when you looked again you would see something completely different. Anyway, that’s all I have time to write here but I will post again in a while. I’m out! Pupil, blog post
They were unsure at first but after their first visit they were very positive and remained so. School staff
There was a change of attitude to visiting places like the art gallery. School staff
The pupils were nervous about visiting the gallery at first, as they did not know what to expect. Their feedback for their first visit was very positive and on our return for the opening ceremony all pupils were excited. School staff
They seemed excited when they entered the gallery but [the gallery staff’s] initial introduction inspired them further. They were impressed by its age and history. Many of the children excitedly gasped when they were told that their work would be exhibited there. Creative practitioner
It was pleasing to see the sense of awe and amazement they had upon entering the museum for the first time. From the time of their first visit to the second it was clear that they were more comfortable in their surroundings and enjoyed reminiscing about their previous visit. This will hopefully lead to them returning to the Russell-Cotes in the future. Gallery staff
They were used to it, they were much more comfortable in the environment, and they felt more confident in that environment. The first time was a school trip, it’s exciting because it’s a day out of school and the teachers are on edge: “Don't touch anything!”. Whereas the second time, it was like having a bunch of kids running round your house. You almost had to reel them in... in the second session for the finale, they had a free run so they were in different rooms, and they were shouting out: ”Ooh have you seen this come and look at this”, and there was an art Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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student exhibition and you could see them running from room to room, manically because it was so exciting and because they'd been before they were much more comfortable to do that. Creative practitioner Snapshot
When the children arrived in the Gallery, they were rather subdued and a little awestruck but that lasted only a few minutes. I think their attitude changed pretty rapidly as soon as they saw they were warmly welcomed by Gallery staff and given a tour of the Gallery. When they were encouraged to interact with the paintings by drawing, commenting, performing, participating in the stories and throwing themselves into on-the-spot workshops in the Gallery, they relaxed completely. When the Project culminated in exhibiting their own work – it was hard to tear them away from the video and their drawings. They were hugely proud and in turn injected a shot of happiness into the space. Creative practitioner
Actively involved The level to which pupils shaped their activities varied across the regions, depending on the particular style of engagement from the practitioners and gallery staff. Some of the most successful sessions encouraged the children to be proactively involved, leading and shaping activities themselves.
We have been to an art gallery, but we didn't get to do the things which we have done here, to actually get involved. Pupil
This was the chance for them to come in and see it and respond to it. I don't really feel we had a lot of time in the sessions, apart from taking small groups away, to gauge how they thought things were working, what they liked about how stuff had been done what they wanted to see differently. It was still pretty much a school session. We were trying to make it as child-led as possible. we were getting them to pull out what they liked, getting them to spend time looking at other people’s work - that is always the thing with children, training them to look, to observe things and record information and feedback to you. A side effect of that is that they really start going: “Oooh this story is about this! This one is about that.” We did want an element of interactivity to it, I like that the cranes and the leaves are building up. Gallery staff
It was nice. I’d been down there twice but I didn't know it was there. We had to go round the whole museum so we got to explore before we started and we knew where everything was.
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Our group wasn't that interesting because the teacher had been the week before so she already knew where everything was, so it wasn’t that interesting because she just led the way and showed us. I wanted to explore. Pupil
The first time we went, there were 2 groups. They got to walk round and explore but the teacher was dragging them with her because she knew what she wanted them to see. Obviously have an adult with you, but maybe next time don’t tell us, let us have a look, because if people just tell you then you are never going to learn things yourself. Pupil
Feeling positive and comfortable They obviously feel pretty at home coming in here which is nice, and we're not the kind of gallery that is constantly shushing people. Gallery staff
One child was disappointed that it was time to leave the gallery and said to me "They should make a Ben Uri school". Creative practitioner
It was great. I liked the fact that it was built as a museum but then you kind of like went in to a house. Pupil
It is not just like an art gallery with drawings and statues it is also a really cool house. Pupil Snapshot Staff saw evidence that the pupils became increasingly comfortable in the gallery space. There was personal progression through engagement in child-led exploration as the pupils took ownership of their activities, and showed excitement and pride in their finished work:
As the sessions within the gallery progressed, it was evident that the children became increasingly more comfortable about the space and using the paintings as a source. Through the use of drama and the storytelling, the children’s confidence with their own expression of what they were looking at and their ability to communicate this developed. This was taken further by some to independent working with the space and art pieces. This was demonstrated particularly well on two separate occasions. At the beginning of the day, the children were moving around in their groups of two or three or four taking support from each other when looking at unfamiliar pieces. However, as this confidence and independence developed by the end of the day, two children, one boy and one girl had taken themselves from their groups so they could work by themselves, one clearly reproducing aspects of a painting, the other using his new Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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understanding to offer his own interpretation of another piece. Both were so focused that I was able to observe and document them closely for a period of time without them realising. The enjoyment, motivation and subsequent pride from their work was tangible as was their newly discovered excitement of working within this space. Gallery staff
Building familiarity with the space and the works During the course of the project pupils became familiar with the venues and the works on display by looking at them, and revisiting them back in class. They were able to discuss particular works, and this led to a sense of personal connection and ownership.
[I’m drawing] what I found at the museum - I drew that, I drew the legs, she drew the top. And she helped do the unicorn. Pupil
At the museum there were many different pieces of art there were painting, drawing, sculptures, jewellery and precious artefacts. The main thing I liked about the paintings were the different colours and on everything else I liked the different patterns. I like the golden trophy overall because it had a lot of patterns. Pupil
The other class thought it was boring because they were trying to show off. I'd go again, because once you've been once, you know where everything is, but if you go again in a few months’ time, you forget where everything is because you have so many things on your mind, school and college and whatever you do. I reckon it’s nice to go back so you can explore what you haven't had time to explore before and have 10-15 minutes in each room separately it is nice to do activities so you invent stuff. Like sometimes you forget all about it and then you remember where everything is. Pupil
There was certainly a greater sense of familiarity with the gallery upon the second visit, as well as an ownership of the work displayed. The gallery is already quite small, so we don't tend to see the sort of awed hush you see come over kids when they enter somewhere like the National Gallery, but the classes seemed more relaxed and talkative the second time round. Gallery staff
I really liked how they remembered that and how they got excited about that, about seeing some of the reoccurring characters, it was almost like they were welcoming a friend when they saw his painting - it's Eli the thatcher - because we'd spent some time in front of his painting piecing the story together and the readers as well, seeing them remember what they had been told in the gallery so that was lovely. Creative practitioner
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It was really good. I'd not been before. [I wasn't expecting it to be] nothing as good as what it was. I thought it would be quite old fashioned, and I thought it would just be pictures but there was sculpture and stuff. Pupil
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b. Exhibiting pupils’ work in the gallery Final exhibitions and celebration events There was a range of approaches to the timescales, structure and participation in the exhibition and celebration events:
At the Ben Uri Gallery & Museum, the exhibition was on for six days throughout the entire gallery space. The evening celebration event was attended by teachers from one of the schools, as well as the creative practitioners, gallery staff, trustees, and invitees from their regular Private View guest list. The pupils were brought with school to see their exhibition over the course of the week, one class at time. They spent the morning seeing the final exhibition and doing other activities facilitated by the gallery staff. The creative practitioners were not in attendance.
In Reading, the pupils work was on display for one month including the Easter holidays. During this time, the schools visited the Gallery for half a day, and performed their work for another visiting school. The celebration included visual arts and storytelling activities, as well as a speech and presentation from the Mayor. The celebration was attended by school staff, including headteachers, press and parents.
At the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, the pupils’ work was exhibited for two weeks, and was free of charge for visitors to see. Pupils from Kingsleigh and Pokesdown schools came in for a halfday session to view their exhibition and to explore the historic house. They then performed the stories and freeze frames they had created for the other school. The two classes from Kinson Primary School did the same in the afternoon, performing to each other. The performances were watched by the pupils, school staff, creative practitioners and gallery staff.
In Stirling, the pupils’ work was on display for the general public to see in the principal gallery for two months. Their celebration event was split into two events over one day. As well as the school groups, parents and Trustees of the gallery were invited, and around 60 adults attended.
Exhibition and finale event gives authentic goal Exhibiting and performing work in a professional gallery, a public space, gives pupils a sense of being a ‘real’ artist. It gives a purpose to their work, and endorses what they have done in an authentic way. Some galleries talked about the process of creating the exhibition with the pupils, which gave them some understanding and insight into the reality of creating an exhibition in the public realm.
[The exhibition] brought meaning and celebration to their outcomes therefore motivating them through the process. School staff
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The final exhibition was really impressive, largely because the children were given the whole gallery - I appreciate that with many venues this is not possible but seeing their work curated in a professional manor is very powerful. Creative practitioner
They could see that end goal and they could see that it could be completed as well, so the excitement of going into the gallery, that played a part, some of them are talking about going to the gallery and some are telling their parents as well and that seems to have an impact that there is an end goal, not just going up at school, but the fact that it is going up in a gallery is a bigger buzz than it being on a school wall. School staff
Definitely the first session, going with the kids to Russell-Cotes opened up where it was going and the kids were excited about it, which makes me excited about it. […] Telling them about the end goal, rather than: “We are doing this. What is the point of it?”. Giving them the purpose straight away and the purpose is that we're going in to the gallery and there will be a performance. That is the purpose of why we are doing it. School staff
[The gallery staff were] great at making us all feel welcome, making the art accessible to the children and at explaining how the gallery operates and the background of the various artists etc. School staff
A sense of belonging and ownership When asked how they felt on arriving at the gallery for their celebration session, pupils responded with great enthusiasm and energy as seen in this focus group discussion at a celebration event, in response to the question: “How did you feel when you arrived at the gallery today?”: -
Excited because first time in a gallery we see our images! When we first started our thing, I didn’t think we'd get a story and I didn't think it would go in our own gallery, but now we've seen it! Excited to see our work in a gallery and we haven't seen it here before. I felt very excited because art is like everywhere and art is one of our favourite things and I finally got to see my artwork into a gallery. This feels like a proper gallery. When I first came in, I thought maybes it’s going to be like other galleries, we are not going to do anything and maybes when we found out that our work is going to go there, then I thought that this is the best gallery I've ever came to.
They were extremely proud that their work was viewed by members of the public on display. School staff
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I loved how the final display took over the whole of the gallery space. The entire gallery really did belong to the project and the children involved. Creative practitioner
They appreciated being invited to the opening ceremony. School staff
They felt very comfortable with the gallery almost instantly. This may have been down to the gallery’s size, as it is so small, it is not at all overwhelming and seems to be perfectly designed for a year group. On arrival, they moved through the gallery with ease (and at speed!). When I visited the school after the gallery visit, they had great recall of where paintings were positioned and the content of the paintings. They were also really excited and enthused at the prospect that the next time they visited it would be “their” gallery with only the work they had made. They always spoke about it with familiarity as a space they “knew” with a sense of ownership almost or at the very least an attitude of belonging it was “their” place. Creative practitioner They would do a standard gallery tour, rather than me telling them they go round with post-it notes and there are particular things in the gallery I want to show them or tell them, but I use the post-it notes to guide it as well. So we try to get as much child directed learning as possible, or get them to feel that rather than just coming and listening to a lecture they have got a little bit of ownership of it. Gallery staff
During the celebration day, whilst we were walking through the different rooms, I would notice the students chatting and pointing to work in an analytical and inquisitive way. They were deconstructing and 'reading' the work around them. They seemed to have taken ownership of the spaces. It became their museum and the contents had a context for them as they had used it as a means to an end for their own creative work. The space was far less abstract. Creative practitioner
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Stills from the film shown at the Ben Uri Gallery
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9. Academic interest, attainment and creativity Aim To impact positively on children’s academic interest, attainment and creativity. Quality Principles Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Actively involving children and young people Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership
In order to robustly evidence the impact that this project may have had on pupil’s academic interest, attainment and creativity, a longitudinal study would be required, gathering baseline data on these areas, and revisiting them during and after the project. Whilst this is beyond the scope of this evaluation report, it is still possible to gain some anecdotal insight into these areas through the knowledgeable observations made by class teachers and creative practitioners.
Impact on academic interest and attainment Four teachers were able to offer insights into the impact of the project on their pupil’s academic interest and attainment. They felt that as a result of the project, pupils showed personal progression and were: keen to write more stories based on art works and writing in a historic setting; interested in learning more about the specific poem and poet introduced during the project; showed greater enthusiasm and interest for art and drama; more interested in visiting galleries. Snapshot One teacher identified that there had been a notably positive impact on pupils’ ability to write within a historical setting. This was attributed to the cross-curricula approach of the project, which really engaged the pupils and gave them confidence in and depth to their subject knowledge. They were so inspired that they were seen to be taking the lead with their own learning, spontaneously working on projects outside of lesson time:
Since working on this project, I planned a Romans and an Aztec / Mayan topic for Art, Geography and History and I have never seen the children retain so much information and be so inspired that they have continued on their history exploration in their free time. One group of very hard to motivate boys ended up using their wet lunch time to make an information book about all they had learnt together.
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Writing in a historical setting - this type of writing is often not as high a level as other stories, as children do not feel confident enough to add detail to the setting and context. However, having done the Romans in the Art Quest approach, the children were so confident with their knowledge it enriched their stories and really felt like they had understood the setting. Children look forward to these lessons and they are known as the Art Quest lessons so we are not tying a lesson to a subject and getting them more used to understanding a linked curriculum. School Staff
Impact on creativity There many examples of pupils being creative during the project itself. There was also evidence that they had learnt new skills, which they could potentially harness creatively in the future. However, it was harder to evidence the longer term impact on the children’s creativity within the scope of this evaluation. One key observation was that the project encouraged pupils’ creativity, and often endorsed a non-linear approach, in which there is no right or wrong answer:
In the art sessions, I definitely saw a lot more of the creative side, rather than it just being about sketching but actually creative in a different way, using what resources they had. It was quite minimalistic, with it just being black and white, it was great to see how creative some of them could actually get with minimal resources. The group of girls with the wallpaper, they aren’t the ones who love art, but they took it and made it their own. C with the fireplace stuff, she isn't one who would say: “I love doing art!”, but she just sat there and just enjoyed doing different bits. A really different side to them. They had that freedom, but it was minimalist in that they didn't have so much to think about, they knew what resources they had, and they knew what they could do. School Staff
They are more open to creativity – more willing to get involved in things they may have otherwise shied away from in the past. School Staff
I think it was more tricky to see any development in their creativity over the few days mainly because there just wasn’t enough time to develop it. However, I do think that being exposed to the gallery, to the storytelling and to creating the artwork allowed them to open their minds about what being creative means. Creative Practitioner
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Working with the professional practitioners was seen to help children to value creativity, by highlighting its potential value within a career path:
Often I think Art and the creative parts of the curriculum are overshadowed by the core subjects and this can lead the children to think art is just fun or a hobby rather than a possible career path. This work has inspired their creativity and given it worth, not just in school but for life after education. It has opened their eyes to what is around them in our local environment and they have learnt so much. School Staff
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A school visit to the gallery in Stirling Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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10.
Building confidence and self-esteem Aim To build children’s confidence and self-esteem. Quality Principles Striving for excellence and innovation Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Actively involving children and young people Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership
Confidence in art making and storytelling The project was seen to develop many pupils’ confidence in their ability to create art works and to engage in storytelling activities. This was attributed to the new skills that they were learning, as well as to the ethos that there were no right or wrong answers, and therefore that all of their work was valid and valued.
Some of the children used to say they couldn’t ‘do art’. Now they have learnt otherwise and they are more than happy to have a go in the realisation that their art is their own masterpiece and that difference is a good thing. School staff
It was also lovely to see pupils who had no confidence in their abilities to use art materials, be really surprised and delighted at what they produced. Creative practitioner
[Pupils have learnt that there are] no right or wrong answers when it comes to the appreciation of art in its varying forms. School staff
One lad in particular, I just thought the fact that he has got 100 words written is absolutely astonishing. The videos came in, we had a video of him standing in front of everyone, in the gallery, reading and adlibbing his story. At school they were performing his story as a class. If you have a child who is showing a sliver of confidence when they don't normally, you jump on it and the feedback from the teacher was that he just loved it. This was a child who doesn't write and doesn't read, not interested, if it is not football he couldn't care less. He has really, really grown with it. Gallery staff
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Snapshot There was notable progression from one lower ability pupil in a storytelling telling session. His ideas were taken seriously and he was given individual attention which was appropriate for his ability, learning style and low self-esteem. This support seemed to fuel him to keep trying in the face of adversity as he struggled to write. He surprised himself with his achievement and could see the difference in his own work. Seeing other pupils perform his story further endorsed his work and gave him a new perspective on his own writing. He was visibly engaged in the performances and clearly having fun. The creative practitioner and pupil shared their perspectives:
A lot of children had written half a page and K was still on the first sentence and his handwriting was quite scribbly […] He began to tell me the story and that is when he began to get really excited, and I was really encouraging him, because it was a brilliant story! What was wonderful, was next time I went round after lunch, he'd written a good half page of the story, which I wasn’t expecting. I said to him “Whatever happens, I’d like you to stand up and just tell your story”, because I wanted to make sure he got the chance to tell his story. He'd actually managed to write it all and I was really impressed because I wasn't expecting it and he didn't think he would. He said he didn't like writing... so that was just a wonderful surprise. I feel really happy with K, as someone who seems to have that need to tell a story. Today he got to tell an adult his story, but also he saw his story acted out. Hopefully that'll give him more confidence that his stories written down are really good too. I noticed that K would get told off, maybe he isn't taken that seriously, but today he had his story read out and maybe that'll lead on to something. That makes me feel quite moved. I feel so proud of them. Creative Practitioner
It made me more, like, surprised that I had done that much because normally I don't do a lot when I do my work, because I don't have good ideas. But when it comes up with other people writing and I see it and I get the ideas and I shuffle them around and I change them. […] I like that [the storyteller] always lets people have a go at least, everyone there, could have had a go. Normally we never do drama and not as fun as now, but we did have quite a lot of fun… more fun than we normally have. Like when we played out what we write and it shows other people what it actually looked like and you don't have to memorise it in to your head. I know what I writ [sic], and I saw them act it out and it actually changed what it looked like. Pupil
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A positive and inclusive environment A key factor in the development of pupils’ confidence and self-esteem was the positive, inclusive environment created during project sessions. This was often due to the collaborative nature of the activities – whether that be creating a whole class performance of a story, or creating a group artwork:
Children loved the art session as everyone was involved, working together and they were able to share their ideas freely. School staff
I thought that worked really well, them acting out the story ideas. I loved their warmth towards each other and their supportiveness. […] It felt like they were supporting their friends: “You can write like this...”, “Why don't you go up and have a go?”. Creative practitioner
It was great - they were all supporting each other. School staff
There was one particular lad who really wanted to do a horse, and he said: “I can't do it, I can’t draw!”. He started a few times and stopped and one of the other kids in the class found a book about drawing animals, and found a horse in it. He ended up creating a picture which was just stunning! Creative practitioner Snapshot
At the gallery visit there was one child who wouldn’t look at me or respond or join in with the activities at all. She seemed to be labelled by the children and by the teachers, as if “Oh well she won’t join in”. When I worked with her in the school, her very understanding teacher said she was extremely shy and did not speak any English when she arrived at the school. I really wanted to ensure that she could participate, as I felt this project should be for children just like her. Part of my session involved children reading their own story. She didn’t feel comfortable with that of course. She told me via her friend she was worried the others would laugh at her, that her story wasn’t very good. I asked if it would be alright if I read out her story and didn’t say her name. She liked the idea of having an anonymous name (she thought it was funny!) so I read her story. I didn’t say who it was by. She watched intently as everyone rushed to act out her story as they had done with the others. I felt really happy that she had the chance to see her work performed and that she permitted this to be done which she wasn’t sure of at first. She sat up straight and watched her story unfold. At the end her story was clapped and cheered as the others had been. Creative Practitioner Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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Confidence in performing For many children speaking out in class and performing can be a real hurdle. The Great Art Quest gives children an opportunity to develop their confidence in this area as they read their stories or contribute to group performances. Several pupils highlighted a sense of achievement that came from sharing their own work. Having a real audience, beyond their class group, gave a sense of purpose to the work and endorsed what they had done:
[The best thing was] to perform in front of Moorlands because it gave us the opportunity to be brave and we can do anything! Pupil
Some of my very shy children were more than happy to stand up and participate in the storytelling and to hold up their art in assembly and discuss their work. School staff
Confidence to perform from EVERY single person in the class individually in front of the children of our school, their parents, children from the other school and the museum - is a massive deal to some of the children in the class. Many of the lower ability children are reluctant to even raise their hand in class and to see them share so confidently their OWN idea without too much guidance and prompting from staff was lovely. School staff
Some of the pupils were reluctant to take part in discussions to start with mainly because they have issues with trusting people they don’t know but, with encouragement, they were quite happy to say their bit. Creative practitioner
Confidence to have a go Interestingly, sometimes even the school staff were surprised by the increased confidence shown by some pupils:
D in particular doesn't ever really speak out and, on three or four occasions, he did speak out. I think all of them got something out of it. I didn't think all children would go up, but they all did, and I think that is what a storyteller can do, with the support of [the other adults], you can get them to think: ‘You know what, I'm going to give it a go!’. For a Year 5 class, that is quite an achievement in the sense that not everyone has a sense of humour about being on stage and being a bit daft. School staff
Pupils showed an awareness of their own developing confidence. They discussed the value of performance and the benefits of seeing their peers try new things, which in turn encouraged them to have a go. This is evident in conversation during one of the focus groups:
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We have more courage since they see people before [have a go], then they had courage, and then it turns out that they can actually do it. And then other people see it! And we feel brave about it.
Enabling personal progression and building self-esteem One member of school staff felt that the biggest benefit of the entire project was simply that it had ‘improved self-esteem’ for their pupils. A common observation from adults was that pupils showed an increased confidence in their own self-expression. For example, one school observed that, since the project, a child with a stutter was now more eager to speak out in class. Children were proud of their work, and there was an individual and collective sense of striving for excellence.
[It was good] because everyone did their best. Pupil
[The best thing was that] you improved your performance voice and practised using expression when reading. Pupil
They had pride in their own artwork. School staff
Children loved working with [the storyteller] and were fully engaged in her storytelling. They were able to express themselves and became much more confident, especially the quieter children. School staff
If you can perform in front of your peers, articulate the mercurial, instigate change on even a small level, then I am sure your self-esteem will be incalculably enriched. Creative practitioner
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Pupils performing their stories together in London
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11.
Relationship building: families and galleries Aim To inspire children to visit the gallery with their families after the project has finished. Quality Principle Developing belonging and ownership Ensuring positive and inclusive experience Being excited, engaged, inspired
Family involvement during the project The Great Art Quest aims to inspire families to visit the galleries after the project has finished. The venues chose to start this journey by trying to engage parents through a range of methods during the project. These included the following: information letters explaining the project, work in Learning Logs, discussions with children, content (including videos) on school blog, social media and website, special assembly to show performance to parents, free entry vouchers. Conversations with pupils during the project showed a general enthusiasm for returning to the museum with family members.
Probably take my sister in the other class and my mum and dad. Pupil
That was my first time. I was expecting it to be fancy, old statues and stuff and, which it was, some of it […]. I like the museum. I'd like to take my mum. I actually really liked it, it is the best museum I've ever gone to. Pupil
I've got a grandad that is in Thailand now and he’s coming to England now and he hasn't been in England for 13 years and now he’s coming in April so I'm going to bring him here. Pupil
Staff at Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum estimate that approximately 20 pupils visited the exhibition with their families over its two week run. All pupils were given a family admission ticket (two adults and two children) to visit the museum, which is valid for six months. Take-up of the vouchers has so far been slow, but it is too soon to measure the success of this initiative. There was a suggestion that the vouchers could have been offered earlier.
Very few kids had come back within the time the exhibition was up. The exhibition was only up for a few weeks, and the finale was on one of the last four days […] Since the exhibition, they have all been given tickets to come back as a family. Timing wise it would have made more sense to do that whilst their work was on the walls. They were getting [the vouchers] after the finale. Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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The finale was on the Thursday and the exhibition was only on until the Sunday. There was only a few who were on the ball enough to know. Creative practitioner
The celebration events in Stirling extended to include parents. Gallery staff reported that they were anecdotally aware of families having come to visit every weekend during the two months that the work was on display, and some schools were aware of pupils visiting with families.
Most of the pupils had never been to the gallery before so they were genuinely surprised and delighted to know it existed and to be able to take their families there. I spoke to one family in particular on the opening day who were genuinely surprised that they liked it…beforehand they had quite clearly thought it wasn’t for ‘the likes of them’…they started out looking quite glum and scared during the opening but ended up all smiley and chatty once they felt involved….and especially after seeing their son’s artwork in the gallery! Creative practitioner
We strongly promoted the idea that families should come back as often as they like. We have had many children from deprived areas proudly bringing their families back to visit the gallery again at weekends. Gallery staff
Many of my pupils’ families have visited the gallery. Our class assembly also explained our time with the Great Art Quest and we encouraged children from other classes to go. School staff
In London, schools had been asked by the gallery to invite parents and pupils to the evening celebration event, but none attended. Some of the classes visiting the exhibition with school were accompanied by parent helpers. Other schools reported that some pupils had visited with families, including on who reported that three families had visited the exhibition, but that others parents felt it was too far for them to travel.
Yes, we announced the exhibition dates in our class assembly and in the newsletters each week. We have also informed the children that they can go to the gallery with their family at any time of their choosing. The feedback we had from parents was positive and I do believe that at least half visited the gallery since. School staff
In Reading, there were parents at the celebration event and some families visited the exhibition during the Easter Holiday period.
[We] had a private view to encourage pupils and their families to come in together to see their exhibition. The exhibition was on display for two weeks and during that time only around a quarter of the participants came to view it at the museum. Perhaps an event like a private view would have brought in more families. Gallery staff
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The museum produced the Great Art Quest; Reading Museum Ambassador Pass for each child which participated in the project. They were given to the schools which were involved who distributed them to the children. These allowed the children to come back to the museum with family and friends over the Easter holiday period to visit the exhibition of their work which was on display. As a further incentive, it also allowed the child to participate in the Eggy Bingo Trail, an activity set up for the holiday period for children, at no cost with the reward being an Easter egg at its conclusion. This pass strived at involving the children and their families in the museum. Its immediate return was disappointing although some families did return during this period with images being reproduced by some of them on social media. However, its longer term impact is hoped to show a greater return. Gallery staff
Family involvement after the project Within the scope of this evaluation project it is difficult to measure if children have been inspired to visit galleries with their families after the project has finished. In some cases, it is too soon as the projects have just finished. Stirling intend to use some of the funding to offer incentives for families to come back in the future. However, it was generally felt that this area was difficult to develop and to monitor. Given these difficulties, CATA may wish to consider amending this aim for future projects to include / focus on inspiring families to visit during the project. As the projects have quite recently finished, it is too soon to know if families will be encouraged to return in the future.
An area for development The role of the creative practitioner in this area could be explored further. Some creative practitioners did not see it as part of their role to encourage the wider families to engage, whereas others mentioned it more frequently. Whilst it is certainly not a key part of this role, the overall message will be stronger if it is being reinforced from all angles.
I did not have contact with families but kept reminding the children that their work would be exhibited there and many said that they wanted their parents to see it. Creative practitioner
There was a sense that more could have been done to engage families ranging from simple printed letters from the gallery, to additional days of activity during the exhibition.
We only really engaged the families by asking the schools to inform them. I think this could have been handled much better I would have liked to have drafted a letter for each of the schools to give out from [the gallery] and make it seem quite a big deal to get a message from this external organisation. Printed invitations to the private view and exhibition would have been fantastic too, but we sadly ran out of time to approach Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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designers […] I think the impact would have been quite significant had we managed to improve this element of the marketing. Gallery staff
It would be great if there was a way to involve families during the project. Perhaps via teachers at the schools sending out updates on the project [...] or an equivalent of the teachers’ CPD day but for interested parents/carers […] A day when they could meet the storyteller/artist and engage in creative activities alone or with their children. Perhaps, that is a whole different project! Creative practitioner
A school visit the gallery to see their exhibition in London
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12. Relationship building: galleries, schools, practitioners Objectives To provide up to 40 Key Stage Two teachers with training in using visual art and storytelling in the classroom. To connect 4 art galleries with 4 local schools that they have had little or no previous experience of working with, and to build the beginnings of a lasting relationship. To introduce 4 visual artists and 4 storytellers to schools they may not have previously worked with. Quality Principles Striving for excellence and innovation Being authentic Being exciting, inspiring and engaging Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Enabling personal progression Developing belonging and ownership
The Great Art Quest aims to forge lasting relationships between schools, and their local galleries and creative practitioners. A key element of this process is building up the skills, confidence and enthusiasm of teachers for using storytelling and visual art in school. The journey begins with a specific Continued Professional Development (CPD) training day, which is the springboard for developing the relationships throughout the project.
Overview
Overall, the project connected 13 schools with the four art galleries. This was slightly under target, with three of the galleries connecting to just three rather than four schools. This was due to several schools having two form entry, and therefore not wanting half of a year group to miss out on the opportunity. In these cases, schools were allowed to put forward a full year group with two classes.
The project engaged 13 schools to work with four visual artists and four storytellers. The majority of schools, 10 of the 13, had already worked with other artists and storytellers within the past five years. This had often been as a one off workshop or presentation, rather than as a longer engagement project.
In general, the schools had had little or no previous experience of working with the galleries. Eight of the 13 schools had not worked with an art gallery within the last five years.
20 Key Stage Two school staff (teachers and teaching assistants) were provided with a one day CPD training in using visual art and storytelling in the classroom delivered by professional creative practitioners. This was a new experience for the majority of them as: o 60% had never worked with a professional storyteller, o 55% had never worked with a professional artist.
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The majority of school staff involved in the professional development day had never worked with a gallery before, with 70% of them specifically having never worked with their local gallery.
By the end of the professional development day, all of the school staff were able to identify new ideas, skills or tools which they could use in the classroom and all felt positive about the project ahead.
Authenticity – creative practitioners, gallery and schools One of the strengths of this project is that it brings together a mix of people with particular expertise and unique resources in an open-ended collaborative process. This dynamic can be particularly positive when everyone is able to be themselves, working together as a team, as seen in these examples from across the regions.
I think the creative openness between the storyteller and I helped to create a fluid relationship across the visual art and storytelling elements. The collaborative journey was genuine and allowed the students to explore ideas really well. Staff, on the whole, were really involved and raised their student’s ambitions. Creative practitioner (visual artist)
Freedom to come up with an initial approach between myself and the Artist. The school visits to the museum worked well with the variety of tasks to engage with, exploring and seeking, and the contrast of the art and storytelling sessions. My experience of visiting the schools worked well when the teachers (and t/a's) were engaged and taking the skills on board too. Creative practitioner (storyteller)
I think the artist and myself had a good working relationship, we worked well together to create working methods which complimented one another. Creative practitioner (storyteller)
It was interesting to see that the authentic response of the pupils, as well as that of the creative practitioners, was appreciated by one of the gallery curators. Speaking at a celebration event, she said:
I think it is fantastic. I curated the exhibition which they are responding too, so for me it is so interesting to see, how it is developed and absorbed and reimagined by a new generation. As a curator, not that you want to tell people, but obviously you provide some information for people, and this is a completely difference response when you give it to children or indeed other artists to respond. It gives a new life. The way that we made it relevant was putting the artist in his peer group. This is a new relevance, how the children have taken it, what they understand by each work visually – it just releases their imagination. They are really enjoying the project and they are responding. I think it is incredibly positive. And as a curator I find the exhibition humbling, as it is just amazing watching what they do. Gallery staff
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The start of a dialogue The CPD day was seen by many to be a productive day of learning and dialogue. It was a chance for the practitioners to find out about the classes and to tailor their sessions appropriately. One person described a sense of working together as a team. For example, as a result of these discussions, teachers were able to highlight the need for sensitivity around alcoholism, and there was also a decision made to remove any examples of nudity from the works of art which were explored in one region.
It was good to get the teachers perspective on what our idea was and what they thought would work. There were a couple of things that we tweaked slightly, to do with getting the kids to vote on stuff. Generally, [the CPD] was a good thing. Creative practitioner
We had considered the alcohol as that is a major point of the poem, and the teacher that was here and another teacher, both brought up the same saying that we can't do anything related to alcohol as alcohol is a major problem in this village, so they were specifically veering towards something that wouldn't include representation of anything to do with alcohol. Creative practitioner
Where I was teaching before I had to be very careful about what images I showed the [pupils]. We think we are being open, an open forum to discuss it, but the [teachers] work with the children all the time so they know what is acceptable and we got a lot of feedback from them on that. Creative practitioner
Galleries are more approachable than one may first think. Practitioners can be very skilled in their area but sometimes need more guidance as to how best to work with children eg. children take longer to pick things up, need repetition and the plan not to change. School staff
Real team work and cooperation, wanting the best possible experience for the children. School staff
The training sessions gave teachers the chance to familiarise themselves with the creative practitioner’s approach and to try out some of the activities which would later take place with the pupils. This helped school staff gain an understanding and confidence in the activities which were going to happen. It also gave teachers the time and headspace to consider how they may want to embed and extend the project at school.
The CPD helped me to think this could work. Then definitely the first session going with the kids to the gallery opened up where it was going and the kids were excited about it which makes me excited about it. School staff
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I think the staff session at the museum was really important. I also offered to do twilight sessions at all the schools. Two schools took up this opportunity. [We] introduced the approaches we had employed with the students. Consequently, the techniques were adopted throughout these schools. I imagine this may lead to a closer relationship with the museum and object based schemes of work. Several staff asked if the project might run next year which is a good sign. Creative practitioner
Throughout the project I believe the teachers grew more confident in bringing their pupils to a historic house and gallery. Those that had not visited before the project had some trepidation about bringing them into an arts establishment where the artwork is not behind glass or barriers. It also helped developed a collaborative style of working Gallery staff
Some staff shone during this project, allowing for super cohesion between class activities, our visits and the events at the museum. They enabled their students to capitalize on the experience. Creative practitioner
His class clearly used their stories as extensions of their literacy lessons as the standard was extremely high, suggesting drafting and editing had occurred. Gallery staff
We have incorporated blogging about what we are up to and sharing it so all the teachers in school know that we are doing that, and it's been put out in the school newsletter for parents to read that. Kids have been blogging from home as well as school. One of their homework tasks was to blog about their favourite part of the story the storyteller told last week. It is something different, rather than just doing literacy, blogging is a big thing that they should be doing really, so going to try to incorporate it to other parts not just this project. I’ve shared it with [the gallery] so that they can share that as well. School staff
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I think at school we have that strictness that you can't do that, you can't do that. So I think that seeing it from an artist’s perspective has changed my perceptions. School staff
I thought about working with [the storyteller] that it was just as good as working with the dream you - like the person that you really want to be and she was really fun and really helpful. Pupil
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Personal progression – new skills and approach Some of the teachers seemed to be unaccustomed to taking an open approach to creative exploration. The creative practitioners were seen to gladly welcomed all sorts of weird and wonderful creations offered by the pupils, from fanciful animals to tales of indoor snow. This approach encouraged some teachers to reflect on their practice and challenge their own thinking.
Art is supposed to be relaxed, it’s not supposed to be a stress or a burden, and that is what my perspective on it was. My class quite like creative subjects and all of them, to some extent, got to do what they wanted and I think that helped to some extent. Normally I'd say, I think at school we have that strictness that you can't do that, you can't do that. So I think that seeing it from an artist’s perspective has changed my perceptions. School staff
That's what I've liked about this project, especially the arts side of things, it wasn’t like: “You have to do this!”, rigid… They had that freedom and a lot of them could come up with these ideas, like the giraffe... If I saw that I'd probably say: “What the hell is that? Do something sensible!”, whereas [the artist] is like: “Just go with it!, Just go with it!”. It has helped me to maybe be not so... “Things have to be like this!”... and it has impacted on me a bit. School staff
I really like how things were described - no story is wrong. I liked that - but there is the importance of a story making sense and of a story having a hook and being engaging. School staff
Shows different ways of making art / history / geography / literacy cross curricular opportunities. Reminded me as a teacher to try to plan more creatively. School staff
Improved [my] understanding of how to inspire creativity and ideas to use in the classroom. School staff
The teachers seemed excited and inspired by many of the art techniques that we used. They were impressed that pop-up books could be made so easily and liked the idea of creating a shared collection of patterned paper and how this would develop the children's sharing abilities. From the children's responses to the art making, I sensed that they often do not access a range of materials or use an exploratory approach, so hopefully this will be something that teachers feel they can continue with them. Creative practitioner
Some of the teachers responded a little bit like the students – swiftly moving from being rather awed to being very participatory and enthusiastic. The couple of teachers that did seem withdrawn really came forward by the end. I think it was because it became clear that something was expected of them in Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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the final performance. […] I think I went a little too far with that and one or two teachers became nervous and conveyed that to the children, but in general there was a sense of occasion and stepping up to the mark which will hopefully have really increased their own learning and ability to work in this way in the future. Creative practitioner
Teachers’ use of space and different art forms increased immensely from this project. Speaking to a number of the teachers from all the schools, the skills that they were shown on the initial training day have already been employed in cross curricula form within the schools. I know that the use of these art techniques have been utilised in literacy in one school while another is planning the delivery of its topic subjects using methods developed from this this project. The teacher’s confidence with using not only art but also the space within their local museum has grown and their understanding that the space is there to be used, enjoyed and worked in and not only to be looked upon. Gallery staff
Some staff talked about the project reigniting their passion for the arts Others were open minded to new things and engaged in the activities with enthusiasm. There were examples of people keen to continue this kind of work in the future.
I have picked up some art tips and rekindled my love for storytelling which can be used right across the curriculum. I’m also interested in doing something like this again next year. School staff
I personally have a great love of art in its many forms […] I never seem to have the time for my own drawing and painting, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to discuss and create with The Smith team, it was a joy! Working with a professional artist has been a great CPD opportunity in the days of art specialist now not visiting schools. I feel this has helped me to get the best from the children and get new ideas and structure. School staff
The teacher at Sunnyfields really embraced the project and extended work during her teaching sessions. She inspired her pupils to produce excellent work and further develop it. She was open to all the creative suggestions made by me and the artist. The project inspired her to think about her teaching practice. Creative practitioner
One teacher felt that there should be more time to explore how to teach specific skills and ways in which the project could be extended.
It would be good to have some collaborative thinking/planning together in which specific skills to be taught and how we can support and extend this in school, especially for G and T pupils. School staff
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Teacher engagement There was a range of levels of engagement from school staff. There were staff who were completely immersed and engaged in the process and chose to extended the activities. Others chose not to stay with their class during the gallery visit or the school workshops, or who caught up on other work in the classroom during the sessions. This was well summarised by one creative practitioners:
Teachers fell into two camps: either the gallery visit/practitioner visit to school was an opportunity to be absent/minimally involved or they expressed their interest in the gallery […] and remained enthusiastic and involved in the practitioner visits and creating something to share back at the celebration. Through some of the storytelling/ story creating tools I shared on my school visit, two teachers were very enthusiastic at continuing the story creating in an oral way, encouraging the students to be imaginative and expressive in their spoken language. These two teachers (at different schools) I think recognised the community building aspects of speaking and listening. One of the teachers invited me back for a different session (separately paid) when they were doing a fairy stories unit, to tell a story and to facilitate the children creating stories from a host of objects I brought in for the sessions. Creative practitioner
There were good examples of teachers and teaching assistants who were a great support to the creative practitioners.
The support teacher M was absolute gold. The class teacher, had an illness that made it difficult for her to be fully present. This didn’t matter at all because M took the reins and was superb. Creative practitioner
It's one thing holding a class' attention when telling a story, but when you are engaged with multiple small groups doing tasks, you really need support from teachers/ta's in a positive engaged way. Creative practitioner
The benefits of the project are maximised where teachers genuinely and enthusiastically engage with the process. This is evident when teachers have attended the CPD session and are present and actively supporting the workshops and gallery visits. In these cases, it was clear that the teachers: had a more fundamental understanding of the ethos of the sessions; had a more comfortable relationship with the practitioner; were more familiar and comfortable with the gallery; had more confidence in the workshop activities and are therefore able to more fully support them; were more engaged in activities between sessions. This results in a better experience for the pupils and the practitioner, and should lead to a stronger starting point for building a lasting relationship.
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Snapshot A senior member of staff from one school attended the CPD day with the intention of feeding back to class teachers. With the best will in the world, it is very hard for someone who is not a practitioner, to effectively relay a whole day of creative training. This class teacher said that they had not actually received any information from the CPD session. The creative practitioner felt nervous before the school workshop as all her communication with the school had been through the arts gatekeeper. The class teacher did not attend the first part of the workshop, and seemed noticeably disengaged to begin with. He questioned the approach that the practitioner was taking, intervening at one point and changing the activity in front of the class. Later he had a suggestion for an extension activity, which was much appreciated. Had this been suggested sooner, for example at the CPD day, it could have potentially been further integrated into the project, thereby benefiting from input from the creative practitioners and being a more coherent part of the exhibition.
The CPD day was a chance to fit in how we normally do our inset, getting teachers in for an entire day, so you really have to make it worth their while. Interestingly we had a Head of Art from X, rather than the two teachers who were teaching it, and I knew that she would disseminate back what she learnt very well… The day was to push the value of gallery education, and the idea that coming to a place like this is not to look at the art but the benefits it can have on attainment ... and knowing that a lot of children don’t go to galleries or any kind of heritage site as a matter of course. We had storytelling activities and art activities to give them a taste of what they’d be doing in the classroom. Gallery staff
Before I came in to the school I was a bit apprehensive about it. I thought I'm not going to get a chance to run through it with him, and I really wanted to just say: “We are doing this, this, this and this, come and be involved and film everything.” I felt that the teacher who had been on the CPD day had much more ownership and was much more involved from the get-go, and was ready to play the games and sit down, and it was almost like she wasn't the teacher for the day, she was playing and joining in, which delighted the class. Certainly right up until the writing I didn't feel that P was present, certainly not physically present at the start, so I was on my own. That felt a bit strange then because I wasn't sure when he was going to do the teaching. I thought this is my day, but I didn't want to say “No don’t do that”, because it was him getting involved. When he came up with this idea at the end, that really pulled it back for me, because I thought he really does have this great idea and his imagination was sparked. I think that if he'd been in the CPD day all along, he might have had that idea and come in thinking about it and been able to tell the children when they were writing the stories to think about things which were going to make a good scene or props. The CPD is to share ideas, so we wanted to say “What would you like to work on? What do you want to do? Do these ideas seem like something you could work with? And to just meet and say hello... Creative practitioner
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It therefore is recommended that there are two compulsory conditions for schools who want to take part in the project. Firstly, that the actual class teachers must commit to attending the CPD session. Teaching assistants, art co-ordinators, senior managers and other school staff would also be very welcome to attend. Secondly, the class teacher must be present and participating (i.e. not doing other work), during all sessions at school and in the gallery.
Keeping in touch There were some good examples of enthusiasm for keeping these new relationships going in the future. Having instigated the initial introductions, the projects had often gone on to prove that these kinds of activity were worthwhile. Teachers were keen to explore ways to continue working with their new contacts, with a few examples of sessions already having taken place or booked in for the future. When asked if the project had had an impact on how they felt about working with creative practitioners and galleries in the futures, school staff responded positively: - Most definitely – more please! - I am always open to working with others and this was a -
great opportunity for me. I would happily participate in a similar project in the future. It has gone above my expectations, not only inspiring the children and me but their families too. The two professionals we worked with were fantastic and the children always enjoy having an expert meet them.
Galleries and practitioners also reported positive feedback.
I’ve been speaking to the Deputy Head about it and she has asked to do this again next year. I said I don't think this how the funding works, but we'll definitely be doing something in the gallery next year. Gallery staff
Keeping in touch with schools that are losing staff each month, or where they are having a move around - that is an email database you can't maintain! But now we have the inroads there and you've bent the ear of the Deputy Head and the arts coordinator, and they know that you are a safe pair of hands...and that you can deliver the goods. They know it’s well organised and will be fine. It is just trying to show schools you've got the chops and you can give the children something that is going to be really beneficial. Gallery staff
Teachers were extremely warm and positive towards the gallery. One teacher in particular was concerned about the time off curriculum his Year 6s would require, but upon seeing the children's reaction to the sessions became very animated and engaged during the in-school workshops. All teachers (and many senior leadership staff in the schools) have told us they are keen to work with [the gallery] again. Gallery staff
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Teacher CPD day in Reading
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13.
Operational effectiveness Quality Principles Striving for excellence and innovation Ensuring a positive and inclusive experience Developing belonging and ownership Children & the Arts were keen to evaluate the operational effectiveness of the programme in 2015-16, in order to learn from any issues arising and to develop areas of good practice.
Project structure The adults generally felt that the project was well structured, with a clear, logical framework for the sessions which encouraged progression. On reflection, one creative practitioner felt that their region had overcomplicated their project structure for little discernible benefit, as they had split the school sessions into two separate half-day workshops rather than having a full day each in school.
The project has a solid structure, a clear objective and benchmarks such as cultural venue visits, school visits and celebration days that map out the projects trajectory well. Creative practitioner
Nothing to improve. Everything was very clear and organised. The pupils learned a lot and were able to develop a variety of skills through the programme. School staff
The project structure intends for creative practitioners to be present at the final gallery celebration event with pupils. However, in one region, the practitioners attended the evening private view event (with no pupils), and did not attend the daytime workshops with pupils. In this instance, the gallery staff led a session which included looking at the work on display, picking a favourite sentence and writing it on origami paper before turning it in to a crane. These looked very beautiful hanging in the gallery space, and built up over the course of the exhibition. However, it was observed that some children struggled to make these as they were quite complex, and it seemed that the symbolism was not always clear for them. The crane in itself did not seem to have a strong thematic link to the work done in the school sessions, and it may have felt more harmonious, and therefore had more impact, if the final activities been planned and delivered by at least one of the creative practitioners:
I would have definitely liked to be involved in the end display / final gallery visit. It was such a shame that the artists involved with making the work could not be there to facilitate discussion amongst the pupils about seeing the end result in the gallery. The children had made a real connection with us in many cases and I believe were looking forward to more storytelling at the final gallery visit and just to seeing us both again, and seeing our pride in them. I think the difficulty may have been that there wasn’t just ONE final gallery visit at which all the schools could have attended, due to the size of the gallery. Perhaps it was too Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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costly for Children and the Arts to fund this. I think it was a real missed opportunity though as it could have been a chance to reinforce the specialness of the Gallery and how it could be an ongoing resource for the children and the school. Furthermore, it would have been a way to bring the project to completion as the artist / storyteller were there all the way through but seemed to disappear at the end. I felt really sad about this. I think it would have made the whole project more cohesive. Creative practitioner
Amount of time required There were reports from some creative practitioners, school and gallery staff across all projects that the project had taken much more time than they had anticipated. This often led to creative practitioners in particular putting in several more days than they were paid for. School staff generally did not have an issue with additional planning time. There were a range of reasons given for additional time being required: overambitious initial plans; not accounting for tasks such as preparatory planning meetings, ordering materials, preparing work for the exhibition or rehearsals; unclear expectations about what could happen in school between practitioner sessions; additional elements added (e.g. creative documentation); small class sizes leading to extra sessions to reach target.
Extra time in terms of the storyteller making additional visits to school to get schools ready for the grand finale. Extra time spent by artist to tidy up individual pieces of work created by the children and putting together to turn them into a ‘room.’ Extra time spent by museum trying to get responses from school contacts. Gallery staff
We were happy to add extra time to give the learners the best experience. School staff
I did the pictorial and film based evaluation of the project which took absolutely ages but gives a good impression of the journey as opposed to the destination which, as I have said, is life-long. Creative practitioner
[The storyteller] did huge amounts of extra work and he made sure the schools all had their own shadow puppet screen and in the case of one, even completed their shadow puppets so they could succeed. Creative practitioner [visual artist]
I had to make extra trips to 3 of the 4 schools which was outwith the budget. Creative practitioner
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[With hindsight] we would make gallery support staff more aware of the additional work needed to set up a range of media display forms. Gallery staff
We discussed the possibility of creating a more informal showing at the end of each workshop day. I’m torn, because ideally the teachers would work in-between sessions but this proved difficult. We could have narrowed down what we did in the workshop day but that would have been a shame. Creative practitioner
Whilst there was an acceptance amongst some practitioners that larger projects such as this often involve additional time, it is worth noting that the very collaborative nature of this particular project necessitates additional planning to successfully weave the strands together:
There was a lot of planning involved and meetings / conversations with the artist and gallery beforehand. I felt the fee covered the actual days of working with the school and the CPD day but perhaps the planning time involved could have been better reflected with the fee. Planning and discussions do take up a significant amount of unpaid time. Creative practitioner
We had an initial meeting with the gallery where they talked about what they wanted and how they wanted something they could roll out again to other schools and then we met up separately a couple of times and batted out ideas and we spoke on the phone. At the start our ideas were quite big and we had quite a lot to do, and then actually when we read the breakdown of the budget for it and what our time was paid for, we had to hone it down quite a lot to make it realistic. Creative practitioner
It would have been good for more provision to be allocated to the planning stages so that real cross-arts developments can be made. [The storyteller] and I arranged to meet before the initial planning meeting but one or two organised creative brain storming sessions would have been beneficial - perhaps with other project artists as well. Creative practitioner
There was not enough resource for [the storyteller] and I to be fully involved in the schools' final visits which would have been nice to round off the project. Creative practitioner
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Teacher CPD day in Reading
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Snapshot In two regions, additional supported rehearsal time was requested by a school who felt that their pupils were not adequately prepared for the final performance. The situation was well managed in both cases, but would have been best avoided:
The storyteller did more drama games with them during a school visit rather than working on their final piece to perform at the gallery. As the curriculum is so full at school, we would have appreciated it if more time had been spent preparing for the performance during that session. However, the gallery staff were very supportive and visited to help them practice at school during another session. School staff
I would have asked for less in the final showing. We were worried about [one school] and so supported them heavily and suggested small introductions rather than plays and they succeeded brilliantly. The other schools floundered a little, because we were perhaps expecting too much. Creative Practitioner
I provided a day of extra rehearsals and email support but in retrospect I would be a little more prescriptive about the presentation and be more precise about the minimum they would be expected to do. This would be so easy to do. I think that because there was a little gap between sessions other work came in and they became swept up in school activities. Creative Practitioner
It helped to develop a collaborative style of working, for example one of the schools that took part in the project was concerned that they may not pull together their performance before the grand finale. The class teacher contacted the museum to ask for assistance which resulted in both the learning assistant and storyteller visiting the school to work with the class. The end result being a great story performance which was enjoyed by both the other school class and the museum staff. Gallery staff
In order to engage as many children as possible each year, the project aims to engage 120 pupils per region. This caused an issue in Scotland due to smaller class sizes, which resulted in a class being added, thus generating additional unpaid hours for the visual artist. This extra class was brought in at such short notice that the teacher was not able to attend the CPD due to lack of supply cover:
It's a Scottish thing, but because of the class size, from the beginning, we thought, we'll not reach that [target], so we had to add on a class at the end. [‌] Going back to [the visual artist] and saying you have to do more than what you've planned and there is no changing your budget... 16 kids coming, so you have to bump it up somewhere else. Gallery staff
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It is recommended that in the future CATA makes it very clear in their initial call for participants that they value realistic project bids. In the initial planning stages, gallery staff and creative practitioners could be asked to complete a more structured timetable which explicitly maps out who will be responsible for each task and estimating how long it will take including: planning meetings between practitioners and gallery, as well as those between the practitioners; collecting art works from schools; rehearsal time; preparing / mounting art works before the installation; writing exhibition interpretation; exhibition installation / take down; evaluation. Furthermore, it is recommended that in the initial planning stages, it is assumed that all necessary work will happen within the allocated time slots at the gallery and with the practitioners. Any additional time that teachers wish to spend on the project should be considered an added bonus, and should be discussed in detail at the CPD day to ensure everyone has clear expectations. If extra sessions are required from the outset in order to reach the target number of pupils, this should be reflected in either the project structure or the fees available:
[With hindsight] I would have considered the timescales again and how to timetable the project more concisely with regards all the individuals involved. Understanding all commitments of all parties is paramount to a project of this type. Gallery staff
Another suggestion from one of the practitioners would be to reduce the spread of the project, and concentrate on giving fewer schools a more in-depth experience.
It would have been great to reduce the number of schools but then increase the depth of contact with remaining schools. The opportunity to continue over a longer period, or a follow up mini project would enable a deeper 'legacy' and it would also give a chance to see what improvements/uptake/participation stayed with the schools afterwards. Creative practitioner
Timing within the school and gallery calendars Some projects suffered from having the sessions spread out over a long period of time, for example workshops completed in November / December 2015, and the finale in April 2016. This caused the project to lose some critical momentum, and the staff involved have recommended that projects would work better if they run over just one half term from start to finish. There were some specific issues fitting in with the Scottish schools calendar:
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beautifully set up to manage English school holidays, but it was so mad at the end of June, trying to get in schools and say we've got a big idea for you, that was really tough because they were all on holiday by the last week. Gallery staff
There was some discussion about whether the Great Art Quest should be tightly integrated into other areas of teaching, or stand alone as a discrete project. Different approaches were tried in different schools with the different year groups, with a range of advantages and disadvantages identified for both approaches, as shown in the examples below. Given the range of responses to this issue, it seems there is no definitive answer, but something which should be well discussed and considered by each project team.
I can see now that it is probably better that it didn't link [to the curriculum topics] because it hasn't just blended in, it gets its own time. […] Most of the time, I don't think just chucking something together because you have to really works. […] We've been talking about it in school, in planning. If we are doing the war, we don't have to link it to every single thing. […] I planned it so as soon as I knew what dates they were coming in, that we could be totally absorbed in this for two weeks, and then have a break from it, then pick it up before Easter [for the Celebration]. I think it'll be good for them to revisit it; fresh ideas might come to them. If you plan the weeks well, then obviously it can fit into what you are doing in school, but I don't really think you’d get the most out of it... School staff
[A Year 6 teacher] was initially showing worries when he found out that it wasn’t going to be one day with the class but was going to be two days off curricula, in the Christmas term. So I asked the storyteller and the artist, as much as we can, let’s fit the stories in, Rothenstein was an artist in the war, we can fit those stories in. I know they had to do a bit of rejigging and replanning. They said they felt really worried about it because they felt they were intruding, but actually, in the session he was really engaged, really involved, really got the children motivated, and they did some lovely work. Gallery staff
Finances There were some issues with the Great Art Quest finances in 2015-16 which resulted in late payments being made to creative practitioners to cover both their time and initial outlay for resources:
I would not be involved again if there was not a much clearer process on the payment of agreed fees. It was embarrassing for Children and the Arts staff to have to continually apologise for non-payments. It is not acceptable to employ artists who gave more than the agreed work and then not pay them promptly. For many this is day to day living costs. We have discussed it a few times and some payments are still without dates. Gallery staff [January 2016] Great Art Quest 2015-16 Evaluation Report Catherine Mailhac for Children & the Arts
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The payment of the materials budget was disappointingly slow. I had to pay for the materials from my own pocket initially. Creative practitioner
There was confusion about the breakdown of budgets in several regions, with concerns that there was not enough available to realistically cover transport, materials and additional staff time (as outlined above):
All budget elements associated with the schools seem to be under funded…especially in the light of new very stringent local authority reduced budgets. We had to find extra money for art materials and in particular for framing and mounting of art work for the exhibition. This cost many extra days and staff. There should be a greater recognition of the true cost of bussing children in to the gallery. The artist went back about 3-4 extra 1/2 day visits. Gallery staff
Some people felt there was a lack of clarity about who ordered / paid for the resources, as well as queries about what the budget could cover (e.g. practitioners travel costs). The expectation is that the schools are allocated a budget to cover transport and materials, to be divided at their discretion. The point was raised that it could be more cost- and timeefficient for each practitioner to source and order the materials in bulk, rather than them briefing four different schools to place separate orders, and hoping that the orders would processed in time. In this particular case, the issue was discussed with CATA and resolved
The materials thing was a bit confusing. I wasn’t sure at the start about whether they were coming out of my fee or if someone else was paying for them, but then I determined that they were, but that took a while to phone around and find out what I was supposed to be doing. Creative practitioner
I would definitely want to give it more time and a more realistic materials budget but other than that I thought it was a very successful and worthwhile project. Creative practitioner
We did need more resources; this was the only part of it that was not organised. It was mentioned in the initial training there was scope for materials but no details on how to claim them, etc. We ended up using mostly the school’s art equipment leftovers as we didn’t have time to order stuff that would have been better. Obviously picking appropriate materials is also part of the learning, so this would have been much better if, when they asked us to complete a certain activity, we could have known further in advance so we could collect all the necessary resources and then claim the funding for them. We are on a VERY tight budget as most schools are and it would have been very useful to receive. School staff
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is not a lot of time to plan for any resources (because we didn’t know in advance, we didn’t have the best material to make our puppet and since some have been damaged.). School staff
Whilst information was provided outlining the financial support available (see Appendix 3), it could be useful to break it down further as a simple spreadsheet. This could outline each element that should be considered and therefore act as a prompt sheet, as well as a working document. It could be completed by gallery staff and shared with practitioners and school staff to aid communication and ensure all involved have a clear understanding of the project costs. It could be useful to provide a list of excluded areas (e.g. practitioner travel costs). Regional spend Area of spend
Overview
Storyteller fee
X days planning X days gallery X days school X days prep X day celebration X days planning X days gallery X days school X days prep X day celebration 2 gallery visits x 4 schools
Visual artist fee
School Transport
Materials – visual art Materials storytelling Exhibition Mounting Private view cost
Gallery workshop x 4 School workshops x 4 Gallery workshop x 4 School workshops x 4
Total budget available
Responsibility for spending
Process of claiming Invoice to…
Invoice to…
Schools
Visual artist Storyteller Gallery
School to invoice CATA, providing receipts Invoice to… Invoice to… Gallery
Invitation design / print Refreshments
Communication As touched on previously, there were a few communication issues, however there were also examples of good practice. There was positive feedback on communication, in particular: the information given at the start was said to be clear; and Children and the Arts responded quickly and flexibly to issues:
Keeping in touch and up to date with changes etc. is always challenging, but I think that people worked really well to try and avoid any issues. School staff
The information that came before, the plus side was that there was plenty of it. It was great to do phone calls personally at any point, I got answers really quickly. Gallery staff
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The tone of communication was also important:
The general format of CPD day, gallery and school visits was well organised. I think the link between the Gallery and the schools was strong and worked especially well. The gallery visits were well co-ordinated. I would really attribute a lot of this down to [the Gallery staff]. He really put a lot of work into it. Having had experience as a teacher, he was able to connect and communicate with the teachers in a way they understood, as he was able both to inspire them and reassure them. He was also able to act as a facilitator in welcoming the schools to the gallery and introducing them to the artist and storyteller. He wasn’t afraid of participating himself. Creative practitioner
The
main issues which were raised around communication were: clarifying expectations for sessions / performances; clarifying processes for payments, particularly around resources; trying to contact school staff and the extra time spent by practitioners and gallery staff to chase them up; liaising with school art co-ordinators rather than class teachers.
[It could have been] organised with a bit more notice for planning, knowing the expectation of [the creative practitioner’s visit and performance and making it clear how / who we contact to receive the correct funding. School staff
One thing I personally found difficult was trying to get responses from schools, often having to make contact several times asking the same questions before getting a response or not getting any response at all. I understand that as a teacher free time is limited, however it did at times make things difficult. With hindsight I would have established set meeting times for everyone involved with the project to attend so communication can be made face to face at a time convenient to all. Gallery staff
It was frustrating dealing with one school in particular. They did not get back to us with dates. Both myself and the artist were concerned that as time went on, our diaries were getting busier and yet we had to keep a slot free for this school. It meant that we worked with the school in December, a couple of months after beginning work with the other schools. It pushed into the time I needed for other projects. I feel the schools really need to stick to their deadlines about providing dates, as it is unfair for the creative practitioners and the Gallery involved. Ideally, all this should be sorted during the CPD day. Creative practitioner
There were a few issues which were raised by individuals: One practitioner had an issue printing the documents from the Google Drive, which was resolved. One practitioner would have liked to see the final evaluation questions at the start of the project in order to gather examples along the way, and also regretted that there was no structure for feeding back between practitioners and teachers
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A member of Gallery staff raised an issue with some of the terminology used around deprivation.
I didn't twig strongly enough from the brief that the target area was more deprivation. The clue was in the wording, about children might not have visited an art gallery, and that didn't signal deprivation for me, for us that could be distance, all sorts of issues. So just being clearer upfront with the language would have been helpful, it was coded language that could have been explicit. Gallery staff
Recommendations from participants for improving communication in the future included: finalising all dates for the project at the CPD day; making it clear at the CPD day that there was not capacity to chase late/ missing responses from schools; setting up a series of meetings throughout the project to avoid trying to communicate via email; having a mid-point review meeting with all involved; visits by gallery staff to schools; providing paper copies of all materials at the start of the project.
Back and forth emails with teachers is not the easiest mode of communication - so we gave them everything they needed in a pack, and then politely reminded them that everything is in the pack when they emailed and asked for forms... but I know what it is like, you go back to school, shove it in a drawer and it has gone... Gallery staff
If possible, programme in visits from the museum staff into the schools to observe the workshops in action. This allows an allround perspective of the project and how the schools are applying the skills. This could help with any future projects. Gallery staff
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14.
Appendix 1: Credits Bournemouth Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
Sarah Newman
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
Elissa Killey
Creative Practitioner - Visual Artist
Caroline Parrott
Creative Practitioner - Storyteller
Lizzie Bryant
Kingsleigh Primary School
Laura Willis Kristina Nichol Kelly Brown Amanda Blake Chris Beedie Agnes Stevens Adele Jones
Kinson Primary School Pokesdown Community Primary School London Ben Uri Art Gallery and Museum
Edward Dickenson
Creative Practitioner - Visual Artist
Karen Raingold
Creative Practitioner - Storyteller
Olivia Armstrong
Essendine Primary School
Samantha Cabrera Graham Schofield Marilyn Miller Priscilla McGuire Belinda Goodman Mina Vig Oliver Smith
Sunnyfields Primary School The Hyde Primary School
Reading Reading Museum & Town Hall
Elaine Blake
Reading Museum & Town Hall
Euan Affleck
Creative Practitioner - Visual Artist
Jon Lockhart
Creative Practitioner - Storyteller
Xanthe Gresham
The Palmer Academy
Rachel Kershaw Mandy Chandler Evelyn Rackley Cath Sherwood Hollie Kennedy Zoe Love
Coley Primary Moorlands Primary School Stirling Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum
David Smith
Creative Practitioner - Visual Artist
Janette Lightbody
Creative Practitioner - Storyteller
Jackie and David Smith
Our Lady's Primary School
Marie Brennan Katie Alexander Kay Robertson Cheryl Clark
Riverside Primary Fallin Primary School
Emma McFarland
Redwell Primary School
Kirsty MacDonald
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15.
Appendix 2: Evaluation Overview The information below was given to all adults involved in the project to explain the evaluation process.
1. Why are we doing it? Children & the Arts have commissioned me, Catherine Mailhac, to carry out an independent evaluation of the Great Art Quest 2015-16. The aim is to explore the impact of the project on pupils, particularly: how comfortable they are in galleries and if they would visit again with family how they feel about storytelling and visual art if there is any difference in their confidence and self-esteem if there is any change in their academic interest, attainment and creativity. Hopefully you will find that taking part in the evaluation gives you the chance to reflect upon your own experience of the project and on your professional practice. We also want to find out what thing have worked well and what can be improved upon.
2. What will it involve? 3. Quick questions for all adults (teachers, practitioners & gallery staff) There will be a short questionnaire for teachers at the CPD day which Kat from Children & the Arts will give out and return to me. I will also email everyone involved with some questions at the end of the project.
4. Quick questions for all pupils Before the pupils visit the gallery for the first time, I would like teachers to ask them about their current experience of visiting art galleries. You will get a paper copy of the questions at the CPD day, and it is also available digitally in the evaluation folder online. When you have asked the questions, please send me the answers by email or post.
5. Observations and conversations There are over 50 sessions happening across the country, so unfortunately I can’t see them all. I will observe a sample of five sessions: one CPD day, one school trip to the gallery, two practitioner-led sessions in schools and one celebration event. I will see at least one session in each of the four regions. As soon as we have all the dates from the partners, I will pick the sessions and contact the relevant people to confirm all the details. I will be observing what happens during the sessions and taking some photographs for the report. At the school sessions and at the celebration event, I would like to talk to a small group of about 5 pupils for 10-15 minutes. Ideally, this will take place in a quiet room, towards the end of the session, without other adults (so that the children can be completely honest). I will record the conversation. I would like to talk to the class teacher and lead practitioner of each session that I observe. This can either be at the end of a session, or we can arrange a time that suits you for a chat on the phone.
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6. Other material If there is something you think could be of interest for the evaluation (positive or negative) – I’d be grateful if you could share it with me. It could anything - feedback from a parent, a development in a particular pupil, a drawing or photograph, comments in a visitor book etc. We are particularly keen to explore ways you can track if pupils come back to the gallery with their families.
7. Other things you might want to know… Any evaluation forms will be saved in the folder on the Google Drive here: http://bit.ly/GAQEvaluation I would like to take photographs of the sessions I observe. This will be in keeping with the photography agreement you have with Children & the Arts. I have a current DBS certificate. I will share the photographs in the project folder on the Google Drive (only accessible to those involved with the project) so that you can see them and they can be shown to the children involved. If you add photographs to the Google Drive, I may also include them in the report. If there are children in the class who can’t be photographed for any reason, please let me know in the session. We will share the report with the team, funders and future participants. The report will list the names of adults involved in each project. Your name will not be attached to any quotes used in the report. There are no right or wrong answers, your honesty and constructive criticism will be much appreciated! If you have any questions about the evaluation, please just get in touch with me.
8. Contact details Catherine Mailhac Email: catherine@mailhac.org Call: 07785777679 Write: c/o Children & the Arts, Oxford House in Bethnal Green, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG Web: mailhac.org
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16.
Appendix 3: Finance documentation Below is information provided to adults involved in 2015-16.
Children & The Arts Financial Support, Great Art Quest 15–16 Children & the Arts offers financial support in the following ways:
Gallery Funding:
Host teacher CPD day for teachers, working with Children & the Arts Project Manager, Artist and Storyteller Work with Artist and Storyteller to plan and coordinate the project and individual sessions Host at least 1 Gallery visit for 1 class each from 4 local schools Liaising with Schools during project to set dates, secure photo permissions etc. (with assistance from Children & the Arts if needed) Project materials used in the Gallery Arranging and hanging final exhibition and coordinate visit from all participants to see their work.
Visual Artist Fee:
Prep and planning with Venue and Schools Attendance and leading activity at CPD Day Co-hosting school visits to Gallery, engaging pupils with artwork and encouraging them to think critically and creatively Providing workshops. One full day of workshops in each of the 4 schools (can be split into half days in consultation with venue and schools) Helping to prepare work for display in Gallery, attending opening of exhibition with pupils
Storyteller Fee:
Prep and planning with venue and schools Attendance and leading activity at CPD Day Co-hosting school visits to Gallery, engaging pupils with artwork and encouraging them to think critically and creatively Providing workshops. One full day of workshops in each of the 4 Schools (can be split into half days in consultation with venue and schools). Helping to prepare work for display in Gallery, attending opening of exhibition with pupils
Discretionary fund for schools:
Up to £250 per School contribution for arts materials (used inschool) and/or travel (distributed directly to schools on production of valid receipts) up to a maximum of 4 Schools per region. Please note, we require schools to pay for at least one teacher to attend the Great Art Quest Teacher Training Day at the venue. The fee for CPD is £70 per school, which will be paid to the Venue. More than one teacher per School can attend, but additional teachers will just need to cover the cost of their refreshments/lunch. Children & the Arts can provide teacher travel expenses for this if necessary.
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